


Safe And Sound

by I_Am_TheJewishOne



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Diego Hargreeves-centric, Ghost Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Hargreeves Siblings - Freeform, Heavy Angst, Inspired by Music, Klaus Hargreeves Gets A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Non-Binary Klaus Hargreeves, Soft Diego Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:42:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27598406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_TheJewishOne/pseuds/I_Am_TheJewishOne
Summary: Cha-Cha breaks in, resulting in a fatality. Ben consoles her victim, promising to guide them through the afterlife.*Klaus uses they/them pronouns here.*All platonic.
Kudos: 28





	Safe And Sound

**Author's Note:**

> https://open.spotify.com/track/4yTqjWF2EoFJM5BbSCe4YW?si=gR-PwjdjRHO-P5TV-gmqlw  
> Here's the link to the song. There will be a note when you should start listening.

Cha-Cha slipped through the back door of the Hargreeves Mansion. Invisibly, Ben went to investigate. He made no effort to stay quiet, seeing as he couldn't be heard even if he wanted to.  
As Cha-Cha loaded a gun, Ben's eyes widened. "Klaus!" he called to his sibling. 

\--------

"Klaus," he rushed to the kitchen, seeing Klaus browse the fridge. 

"What?" they asked. 

"Someone's in the house." 

"Yeah, bitch. Me." Klaus furrowed their eyebrows, scoffing as they took a loaf of bread from the fridge. "Let me eat my sandwich in peace, please."

"No, no, it's-- it's that lady from the Commission." Ben guessed.

"Lila? Oh, calm down, she's probably just here for Diego." Klaus answered, getting peanut butter and jelly from the cabinet.

"No, she has a gun, Klaus!" Ben begged, frantic at this point. 

Klaus scoffed, still calm. "They're probably just into that kinky shit. Have you seen that "tactical" belt Diego wears everywhere?" they chuckled at their own joke.

"Klaus, please! Listen to me!" Ben tried grabbing onto Klaus' arm. Tears threatened his eyes as his throat began to burn, "Please, get everyone out, she's not--"

\--------

"Hey!" Diego unsheathed a knife, seeing Cha-Cha in the middle of the room. Cha-Cha fired. At the crack of the gun, Diego deflected a bullet which penetrated the wall. His knife clattered on the ground, using both hands to force the bullet away. 

\--------

Klaus dropped their sandwich on the table at the sound, beginning to shake. "Shit." They closed their eyes. "Shit, I'm--"

Ben stood in front of Klaus, instantly recognizing a flashback from the war. "No. You're here, you're safe, no, stay with me." Ben begged. "Breathe, just like we practiced, okay? Breathe."

"Breathing, I--" Another shot. Klaus covered their ears. 

"Come on, come on, let's go. Let's get out." Ben urged, waving his hands as Klaus slid to the floor. 

"Shit, shit, it sounds-- like--" 

"I know, I know, keep breathing." Ben nodded, joining him on the floor. "Just listen to me, just focus right here." 

\--------

Five stomped his way downstairs. "Oh, hell no." he shook his head as Cha-Cha aimed the gun at him. "What do you want?"

"Just one of you," Cha-Cha answered, "For now." Just as the last word left her lips, Five teleported behind her, pulling her backward. The gun clattered on the ground.  
"You're not getting shit out of us." He then pushed Cha-Cha's head forward into the table. 

\--------

In the other room, Ben prompted Klaus to run away only to earn the response, "No. No, they're-- I want to help, they'll get hurt." They stood up.

"Klaus--" Ben protested. As Klaus rose, so did Cha-Cha, picking up Diego's dropped knife. 

Five took hold of Cha-Cha's briefcase in return. "You put that down!" she ordered. 

"Or you'll what?" Five pursed his lips, putting his hands over the lock. Cha-Cha wiped the blood from her forehead with the back of her hand that held the knife. 

"Him." She pointed the knife at Diego. Klaus arrived silently, watching from a distance.

"Me?" Diego approached. An amused smile decorated his face as he took large careless steps in her direction. "What could you do to me?" Diego crossed his arms. 

Cha-Cha grabbed Diego's shoulder. She plunged Diego's own knife into his chest. He fell. As Cha-Cha let go of him, Diego collapsed onto his knees.  
"No!" Five yelled, dropping the briefcase and charging toward Diego.

"Diego!" Klaus called, doing the same. "No, Diego, stay-- Oh gd, how do we fix it?" They turned to Five. 

"It's not so simple as to just 'fix it.'" Five said, turning behind him to watch Cha-Cha disappear with the briefcase. "Damn it. You get help." Five said to Klaus, teleporting to Cha-Cha for his revenge. 

\--------

"'Get help'? I don't even know how to-- He's gone, shit." Klaus held Diego's shoulders, keeping him upright. "Stay with me, okay? Stay, stay with me." 

Diego winced loosely grabbing for his sibling's elbows. "Klaus, it really hurts, it really hurts." 

((START SONG HERE!))

"Ben, what the hell do I do?" Klaus looked exasperatedly at Ben. 

Ben's eyes, instead of frantic, now flooded with sorrow. If you squinted, you wouldn't be able to see his slightly tilted eyebrows or terrified eyes or his lips pressing against each other to suppress any sobs from spilling out. "Ben, answer, please, I don't know how to fix this!"

"Ben...?" Diego's grip loosened. "It hurts real- real b-b-b-bad, Kl-laus." He whimpered. Klaus' eyes softened.

"Don't let go." Klaus pleaded, sniffling now, "I'll never let you go. Don't go." they cried.

"Summon me." Ben said. Klaus looked at him. "Please. Do it." 

Klaus nodded, putting their arms over Diego's shoulders, turning them into blue glowing fists. Diego fell against Klaus, their foreheads touching. Diego’s head spun, his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

"Don't leave me here alone." Klaus begged. A tear thumped on the wood floors as Ben appeared behind them. He placed a hand on Klaus' shoulder.

Klaus moved away and Ben sat in front of Diego. "Man, I'm... dead, aren't I?" his words were slow, focused. 

"No," Ben shook his head, gently leaning Diego back against a wall. "Not...not yet. Just close your eyes."

"I w-wanted to--" 

"Shh, save your breath. You'll be alright." Ben hushed, combing his fingers through Diego's hair to keep him calm. 

Diego ignored Ben's request, saying "I don't want t-to die."

Ben inhaled as Klaus quivered behind him. "You and I will be safe and sound," Ben whispered. "I'll keep you company while you go." 

"I'm dying," Diego said, succumbing to the horrid idea. 

"It's not so bad." Ben said, still playing with Diego's hair. "Now we can see each other whenever we want. You can see Mom. Patch..." Ben tried. Diego's eyes welled with tears. He looked over Ben's shoulder, finding it harder to breathe, to think, to exist. "You. You're a p-p-pain in the ass, you know that?" 

"I love you too, Diego." 

Diego stared at them, nodding a sorry nod. He opened his mouth to reciprocate the words, discovering Diego was unable to bring himself to it.

Through the window, orange hues danced, illuminating the room. Diego stared longingly at the sunset. Memories of the sky’s exact pinkish-orange tone when the siblings would sneak out to Griddy’s put a smile on his face. Allison’s voice echoed in his mind, followed by Luther’s and Klaus’ and Ben’s. Five and Vanya giggled in the windy evening air. The slightest aroma of fresh baked goods filled his senses. Diego smiled, even though the memories were long gone. 

Diego leaned into the touch of Ben’s hands, fighting to stay in his awkward embrace. He hoped Ben remembered their donut-shop outings too. The sky darkened, the last of the afternoon’s brilliant hues fading away.

With a wavering voice, Diego rasped quietly and slowly, "The sun is going down."

"You'll be alright.” Ben said, “No one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and..." Ben trailed watching the lively flame from Diego's eyes burn out into smoke. "Close your eyes." he said again. Diego, ever-persistent, shook his head. He wanted Ben to be the last thing he saw. 

And so he was. 

The room no longer glowed. It shrunk. The dusty lobby was no longer radiant of memories and sweet-smelling donuts. It was just a lobby in which Ben and Klaus’ brother exhaled for the last time. 

"It’s okay, I’ll guide you. Just find me. Come find me, Diego, and I’ll be right there for you, I promise." Ben's voice cracked, his body shaking with sobs. He lidded Diego's eyes and stood up, away from him. Ben clung onto Klaus, also convulsing with silent sobs. They hugged onto each other, sparing glances at Diego. 

"No, no, no, no..." Klaus whimpered. 

"He's okay, you're okay, everything..." Ben held Klaus' face just like Diego would, "Everything will be..." 

Klaus' tears slid into Ben's hands. 

They sobbed into Ben and in return, Ben did the same. “Klaus, I have to find him.” Ben said, breaking away from them. 

“Don’t go,” Klaus asked. 

“I have to find him. He’ll be waiting for me.” Ben wiped Klaus’ face of tears. “I’ll be back quicker than I left. Promise. I have to do this for Diego.” 

Klaus nodded as Ben faded to find Diego. They fell to the ground, wracking with cries. Crawling toward their brother, they reached for Diego's arm. “Ben’s coming for you. Benny’ll be there. Don’t be scared, Di. Be brave for me, okay?” 

They placed Diego’s hand on his face, whispering reassurances to himself, almost as if it were actually Diego saying so. 

“Safe and sound… Safe and sound, Diego…” 

The pinks turned to grays and the oranges to blacks. Not even a silver color grazed them, as silver still had specks of shimmering light. Perhaps the lobby was safe with Cha-Cha gone. Each echoing sound, though, of Klaus’ sobs rang like a dagger to the heart. Irreversibly painful. 

“Safe and…”


End file.
